As slavery spreads west, conflicting ideologies cause a split between
black abolitionists and their white allies over southern slavery and
northern racism. Blacks organize state, regional, and national "colored" conventions in an attempt to forge a unified platform. The Compromise of 1850, far from easing the national controversy over slavery, creates new threats to black freedom and escalates sectional tensions. When black rights are
obliterated by the Dred Scott decision, the direct action strategies increasingly favored by black abolitionists gain support in the North as the country moves closer toward civil war. Which faction will win: pro-slavery, free-soil (controlled slavery),
or abolitionist?